if the average american is a paycheck away from being homeless what exactly is it that?

Question

these people do with their money???? i have seen a woman in the susan orman show who made $80,000 a year and she says she has to borrow money all the time because she is always broke. is she for real???? why is america so much in debt when alot of you make over $50k per annum

Answer 1

Well, let's say the term land of Freedom comes with a lot of costs. Some live beyond their means, but my reasoning for why it is happening is simple. Example: Credit CARDS, are easy to obtain here. They allow the lower and the middle class to access credit under poor circumstances, and all this does is everytime someone spends money on a credit card makes it look like our economy is doing great, which then causes prices to go up even more.
So, then in return the prices go up, we need more credit or money to live, the jobs are not paying what the economy needs to get by, and once you lose your job you have no means to survive, which results in homelessness.
The average price for a home in the area I've lived in my whole life has risen from average in 1980's from $80,000.00 to now $350.000.00. and above. Which means that the rent income for a home now is 1200.00 - 1500.00 or higher depending on what type of housing you will live in. The gas prices are 3.05 per gallon, a gallon of milk is approx. $2.99 bread is approx. $2.69 per loaf. Then you have medical insurance, car insurance, and grocery's in general, phone bills, electric bills, hopefully you get the picture. Now try and be homeless in the USA. This is why we are a Paycheck away from homelessness.

Answer 2

You need to understand that alot of us are not making $50k per year. My income is less than $40k a year and I struggle to make ends meet. We pay taxes on that money, so we don't get the whole amount. Everything in this country is expensive. From the utilities to the cost of health care. We are struggling everyday because our government has a need for the rich and for the poor. Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to be as corrupt as they are. Maybe a visit here would be nice so you could actually talk to some of the citizens here. America is in dept because our government spends outragous amounts of money. There hasn't been a cost of living raise for a long time now and people aren't able to make ends meet. Thank you for your concern.

Answer 3

There are no homeless on earth, just people that have been desensitized to what a true paradise earth is. The only thing that makes earth NOT paradise is HUMAN attitude.
I've been living in a tent for quite awhile now and getting clean was the hardest part. with practice, I got it licked. With 6 liters of solar heated water I get as clean as anyone on earth. Cleaner than a lot because I've got more to clean! I shampoo an condition my long hair also. 6 liters. A water saving toilet uses that much.
Modern humans, because they are attuned to immediate surroundings don't realize that even the poorest is richer than many kings of old. Many kings would have given BODY PARTS just to SEE a car. My heart goes out to modern humans, but it is nobody's fault but their own.

Answer 4

People try to live like the people they see on TV. Most Americans don't know what it means to live below their means. I don't even make half of 50k a year and I make it just fine and still save $200 a month. If I made more money I would just save more money. Instead of buying things on credit you should just save your money and buy things with cash. It keeps you from being in the hole. It also helps if you always have money stashed away in case something bad happens like your car breaks down. If you have to shell out 6-700 dollars to fix your car and you don't have it then you fall behind on your bills.

Answer 5

The majority of us do not make that much. Most of us are lucky to make as an individual less than 20 a year which barely covers the necessities. People with problems like that mostly spend their money on material items that are not needed at all. I will admit to having my own issues with needless spending, but make sure the important things are taken care of first. Frivolous spending aside, even the necessities here are outrageously priced and the average American struggles just to meet their high rents. Did you know that it even costs more to purchase healthy foods than it does to purchase junk? You have to double your food budget just eat healthy here. What you are asking about usually irritates us average Americans, as we struggle to pay our bills, they whine about how they having to borrow money to buy a designer bag. You are right, it's ridiculous.

Answer 6

Most of us DON'T make over $50k a year individually. A family that has a double income probably, but then again they are usually feeding more then just 2 people.

That woman is obviously over spending, keeping up with the Jones' so to speak. She thinks that having that expensive car and million $$ home is more important then her security.

What 'A paycheck away from being homeless' means is that most of America is living paycheck to paycheck without having enough to put into a 'just in case' fund. They say you should have 6 months rent or mortgage stacked away for that 'just in case' happening. But when we are just getting by, paying our bills with nothing left over, it's impossible to have a 'just in case fund'. So 'just in case' me or my husband lose our jobs to what ever circumstances, we don't have that 6 month security stacked away and are one paycheck away from being homeless.

Answer 7

People these days are obsessed with "things." They're always buying with the idea of "live in the moment" when really, people need to go back to the good ol' days when they worked hard and saved for something, so that they didn't have to finance everything. I heard a statistic that the average person has less than $500 in savings!

Answer 8

I just did taxes year, IRS says 93 million make less than 52,000 a yr. My brother works two job and clears 21,000 . I live in Dallas ,Texas . these people live way beyond their income . They all want big houses and big cars, we're reported to have the worst credit in the counrty. In my house my husband make 10.25 hr . He works 40 plus hrs. a week. We have a large family . And we get help from the government. It sucks. GOD BLESS

Answer 9

people are not spending their money wisely that's why their broke. if you make $80,000 a year there is no reason for a person to have to borrow money. people don't live according to the money they make, they try to live a higher life style they cant afford, which is totally stupid. I'm a firm believer in if you have to charge it you cant afford it.

Answer 10

the problem is no one is happy with what they have, have to have the newest, fastest , biggest and best over their neighbor, so you are always buying more stuff, if everyone only bought what they needed and some minor wants , there would be a whole lot less debt, and a whole lot less poor